Collection of 154 assorted (135 different) T206 White Border tobacco cards, highlighted by twenty-seven Hall of Famers including Addie Joss, Nap Lajoie, and Cy Young. The most extraordinary card in this collection, however, is not a Hall of Famer. It is the hand-cut card of Bates, Boston Nat'l that has no blue in the background. Other contenders are Oakes (which has what appears to be remnants of printing from another card), a blank-backed card, and a number of other cards that clearly were handcut. This collection has been saved in the family of the original owner since 1910. Of special note regarding provenance, these T206s are from the very same collection as the T206 Plank (Piedmont back) which appeared as Lot 211 in REA's May 2011 auction, selling for $41,125. This fact alone suggests that at least the twenty-two Piedmont cards (many of which appear handcut) and the one blank back in this lot may have an important story to tell, that we are left today with only clues to decipher. (REA believes that all T206 Planks with Piedmont backs were handcut as opposed to machine cut.) Condition: 15% range from Vg-Ex to Ex, 35% range from Gd to Vg, 30% lesser (mostly Fr), and 20% slightly trimmed or miscut. The fact that some of these cards are obviously slightly miscut by hand (apparently from sheets) as opposed to machine cut, combined with the fact that the Plank with the Piedmont back (only a few Planks are known with the Piedmont back) came from this same collection, suggests a fascinating lost history regarding the printing of the T206 Plank. Most the cards in this collection have Sweet Caporal advertisements on the back. As noted, twenty-two have Piedmont backs. Also included are American Beauty, Tolstoi, Sovereign, El Principe De Gales, and Old MIll, and one blank back. Eight cards have been graded and encapsulated by SGC (all submitted by REA). Highlights: two Bender/port. (Gd and Fr), two G. Brown/Wash. (SGC EX 60 and Vg, one Sovereign 350), Chance/bat (Vg, Old Mill), two Chance/red (Vg and Gd, one El Principe De Gales), Chase/dark cap (Vg/Vg-Ex), two Cicotte (both Gd), Evers/port. (SGC VG/EX 50), Evers/Chicago (SGC EX 60), Griffith/port. (Vg), Huggins/hands (Gd), Huggins/port. (Gd-Vg, American Beauty 350 - frame), Jennings/one hand (miscut), Jennings/port. (Vg), Joss/pitching (SGC EX 60), Joss/port. (slight trim), Keeler/bat (SGC EX 60), Lajoie/port. (Fr-Gd), Lajoie/bat (Vg), Lundgren/Chicago (miscut), Tinker/bat off (Fr), two Tinker/bat on (both slight trim), two Tinker/port. (SGC VG/EX 50 and Gd-Vg), Waddell/port. (SGC VG/EX 50), Walsh (Fr-Gd), Willis/throw (miscut), Young/glove (miscut), and Young/port. (SGC VG 40). This is a very appealing collection of cards saved and consigned by the family of the original owner, direct from "the olden days," a little rough but still very collectable. We always enjoy offering mixed-grade groups of T206s, especially when they include many Hall of Famers, but the true significance of this particular group in our eyes is their provenance, mystery of the handcut cards, the inclusion of the hand-cut blank-backed card, and the inclusion of the particularly dramatic hand-cut printing anomaly (Bates). The equivalent SMR value for the eight graded cards (not including the 146 ungraded cards) is $3,185. Total: 154 cards. Reserve $1,000. Estimate $2,500+. SOLD FOR $10,665

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